December 29, 2015 THAT I MAY KNOW HIM
Philippians 3:8-10: “More than that, I count all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, be conformed to His death;”
If anyone ever knew God, you would think it would be the Apostle Paul. No doubt, Paul knew God, but at the same time it was Paul’s constant desire to be continually transformed to the image of Christ. Paul rightly believed that knowing God was the single, greatest knowledge that could ever be gained. When one understands “the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus,” then all other things are but “rubbish”. Because we live in a materialistic society, the idea of considering all things as of no value compared to knowing Christ, may be a stretch for us. Being focused on the material causes us to be drawn away from the awareness of the greatness of God and the value of knowing Him. If we find ourselves content with what we know of God, then something is amiss. Paul talked about being made “righteous” in Christ and he talked about “gaining” Christ. This may sound contradictory- if one is made righteous in Christ, then what else is there to “gain.” There is no contradiction; because of our being righteous in Christ, we have access to God, and fellowship with Him, and out of this relationship, God will continually be revealing more of Himself to us. Many may be content with being “righteous in Christ,” but being righteous in Christ is the beginning point of growth, knowledge, and understanding of God. In the culture in which we live, pursuing fame and fortune is the norm and the idea of considering whatever we may have gained in our pursuit, “rubbish”, is abnormal. We cannot by our own strength or mental discipline come to a place where knowing or gaining Christ is our supreme desire in life. There is one critical factor that causes one to consider all things lost, or rubbish, compared to gaining Christ; and that is seeing beyond the natural and having our eyes opened by the Holy Spirit to get at least a glimpse of the greatness of God and of His love for us. God gave Paul a look into the heavenlies-into His kingdom- and what Paul saw is what caused him to count everything rubbish compared to gaining Christ. God gave Paul the vision that he needed for what He was calling Paul to be and to do. If we have a desire to know God and if we seek in, He will also reveal Himself to us in a way that will enable us to be and to do what He has planned for us. We are not to major on having a “vision,” but are to major on gaining Christ. Gaining Christ is all about Christ being the major desire of our heart-about hearing and obeying what He says to us-about putting on the new self-about we looking more and more like Christ-about realizing that we have been joined to Him for all eternity. Also, gaining Christ enables us, and causes us to be good stewards while here on this earth because the knowledge of God affects how we conduct ourselves in our daily lives. Truth, integrity, diligence, forgiveness, love, faithfulness, kindness, giving, honoring one another, caring, hope, and etc. are a part of the kingdom of God and these qualities are to be demonstrated by the life we live. Paul made it clear that we do not have the ability to make ourselves righteous, but God declares that we are righteous because we are in Christ. Understanding this fact eliminates pride on our part and produces in us a sense of humility and gratefulness, and it causes us to give all honor and glory to God for what He has done, and is doing in us. May the Holy Spirit reveal to each of us the greatness of God and may gaining Christ be our life ambition.
Ephesians 3:16-19: “that He would grant to you according to His riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breath and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Blessings,
Buddy
Philippians 3:8-10: “More than that, I count all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, be conformed to His death;”
If anyone ever knew God, you would think it would be the Apostle Paul. No doubt, Paul knew God, but at the same time it was Paul’s constant desire to be continually transformed to the image of Christ. Paul rightly believed that knowing God was the single, greatest knowledge that could ever be gained. When one understands “the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus,” then all other things are but “rubbish”. Because we live in a materialistic society, the idea of considering all things as of no value compared to knowing Christ, may be a stretch for us. Being focused on the material causes us to be drawn away from the awareness of the greatness of God and the value of knowing Him. If we find ourselves content with what we know of God, then something is amiss. Paul talked about being made “righteous” in Christ and he talked about “gaining” Christ. This may sound contradictory- if one is made righteous in Christ, then what else is there to “gain.” There is no contradiction; because of our being righteous in Christ, we have access to God, and fellowship with Him, and out of this relationship, God will continually be revealing more of Himself to us. Many may be content with being “righteous in Christ,” but being righteous in Christ is the beginning point of growth, knowledge, and understanding of God. In the culture in which we live, pursuing fame and fortune is the norm and the idea of considering whatever we may have gained in our pursuit, “rubbish”, is abnormal. We cannot by our own strength or mental discipline come to a place where knowing or gaining Christ is our supreme desire in life. There is one critical factor that causes one to consider all things lost, or rubbish, compared to gaining Christ; and that is seeing beyond the natural and having our eyes opened by the Holy Spirit to get at least a glimpse of the greatness of God and of His love for us. God gave Paul a look into the heavenlies-into His kingdom- and what Paul saw is what caused him to count everything rubbish compared to gaining Christ. God gave Paul the vision that he needed for what He was calling Paul to be and to do. If we have a desire to know God and if we seek in, He will also reveal Himself to us in a way that will enable us to be and to do what He has planned for us. We are not to major on having a “vision,” but are to major on gaining Christ. Gaining Christ is all about Christ being the major desire of our heart-about hearing and obeying what He says to us-about putting on the new self-about we looking more and more like Christ-about realizing that we have been joined to Him for all eternity. Also, gaining Christ enables us, and causes us to be good stewards while here on this earth because the knowledge of God affects how we conduct ourselves in our daily lives. Truth, integrity, diligence, forgiveness, love, faithfulness, kindness, giving, honoring one another, caring, hope, and etc. are a part of the kingdom of God and these qualities are to be demonstrated by the life we live. Paul made it clear that we do not have the ability to make ourselves righteous, but God declares that we are righteous because we are in Christ. Understanding this fact eliminates pride on our part and produces in us a sense of humility and gratefulness, and it causes us to give all honor and glory to God for what He has done, and is doing in us. May the Holy Spirit reveal to each of us the greatness of God and may gaining Christ be our life ambition.
Ephesians 3:16-19: “that He would grant to you according to His riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breath and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Blessings,
Buddy
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